Voters exit a polling place in Nanticoke during last May’s primary election. With the push on for mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, Pennsylvania officials are encouraging registered voters interested in that option for the June 2 primary to apply early if possible.
Times Leader file photo
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With the push on for mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, Pennsylvania officials are encouraging registered voters interested in that option for the June 2 primary to apply early if possible.
“Elections offices are also coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, so providing them with as much time as possible to process your application and get your ballot in the mail is a great way to thank them for their hard work,” Gov. Tom Wolf said during a briefing Monday.
The governor said he would be submitting his mail-in application Monday.
Voters no longer have to cite a reason to take advantage of absentee voting under a bi-partisan state reform initiated before the pandemic.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is 5 p.m. May 26. Luzerne County mailed ballot applications to all registered Democrats and Republicans on Friday.
Around 20,000 county voters have requested mail-in ballots to date. The number of requests is nearly 1 million statewide, Wolf said.
Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said during Monday’s briefing it is “literally not possible” for a voter to cast more than one mail-in ballot because of the way each ballot is tracked.
Counties must still provide in-person voting because some with disabilities cannot use the mail-in option to vote unassisted as required by law, she said. There also were concerns that some voters would be unaware if mail-in had been the only option, Boockvar said.
It’s unclear if state legislators will consider allowing county election offices to start counting mail-in ballots before Election Day.
When postponing the election to June 2, state legislators also added a provision permitting county election offices to start opening, scanning and tabulating absentee/mail-in ballots at 7 a.m. on Election Day, instead of waiting until 8 p.m. However, results cannot be posted until after polls close.
State officials made this change in response to concerns counties wouldn’t complete results until the day after the election or longer.
Boockvar and Wolf said they support an earlier date for counties to start processing the mail-in ballots because it would help them adjust to an expected surge in voters interested in the option.
Mail-in ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters cutting it too close to the deadline can deliver the ballot in person to the county election office by that deadline or vote by provisional ballot at their polling place, the law says.
Voters with questions about mail-in ballots or other election matters can call the state’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772) or visit votesPA.com.
County election plans
County Manager C. David Pedri is set to present his final June 2 coronavirus polling place consolidation plan to the county election board Wednesday.
The number of voting locations must be temporarily reduced from 144 buildings to an estimated 58 “well-ventilated, larger buildings” to alleviate concerns about proper social distancing and polling place and poll worker shortages, Pedri has said.
Pedri also plans to require voters to use paper ballots if they vote in-person with take-home pens supplied to each voter, although a new electronic touchscreen ballot marking device would be set up at each polling location for the visually impaired and other disabled voters.
He has been working with school superintendents about using their facilities as polling places, which would supplement some current voting sites that will remain in use.
Boockvar said her office is urging school districts and owners of private facilities and public community centers to make their buildings available for voting. Ultimately, schools can be mandated to house elections, she said.
The Department of State is working with counties as they develop their consolidation plans to ensure that convenient, accessible locations will remain and location changes are communicated to the public, state officials said.
Wolf said the election must go on, even though it is unlikely the coronavirus will be eradicated at that time.
“Free and fair elections are essential to who we are as a country,” he said.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
